Dow Jones tops 26,000 for first time as stock market boom continues

US share index rises 1,000 points in 12 days – but sceptics warn rise could be last hurrah before a crash

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has topped the 26,000 mark for the first time, a new landmark in the Wall Street stock market boom that has gathered pace since the new year.

The leading index of US shares has risen 1,000 points in just 12 days – and six stock market trading sessions, given that Wall Street was closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day on Monday – fuelled by an upswing in the global economy and the prospect of bumper company earnings thanks to Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts.